The present invention relates to electrical measurements and, in particular, minimizing undesirable dielectric absorption effects.
Dielectric absorption may be considered to be the undesired absorption of charge by dielectric materials. This is often noticed in capacitors, but it is present in dielectric material used in electrical apparatus in general (e.g., circuit boards, insulation and cabling). The dielectric absorption typically manifests itself as a long time constant capacitive effect. In DC measurement systems, this often requires substantial delays, or settling times, before measurements can be made without being degraded by the dielectric absorption. If dielectric absorption effects can be minimized or compensated for, measurement speed and accuracy can be increased.